Potential and promise have rapidly turned into production for David Schlemko. He made a rare jump from the Central Hockey League to the NHL in a year's time, and is emerging as a key defenseman with the Coyotes.

Adrian Aucoin, a blueliner with more than 1,000 games in a career that began in 1995, immediately saw Schlemko's skill but notices nuances that have lifted his game.

"Right now, his timing, when to do what, it's amazing how well he's playing right now," Aucoin said.

Schlemko and his defensive partner, Rostislav Klesla, jelled immediately, and their play against opponents' top lines has helped keep the Coyotes in the top eight of the Western Conference for most of the season.

The Coyotes play the Montreal Canadiens Thursday night, a struggling team coming off a 3-1 loss against Edmonton - and the Oilers managed only 14 shots. The expected return of center Martin Hanzal from a lower-body injury should give the Coyotes an extra push in what coach Dave Tippett calls a "springboard game" before a five in a row on the road.

When the season began, Schlemko was battling for a spot in the top six when he unexpectedly was thrust into a key role after Michal Rozsival was injured in the first game. Since then, he and Klesla have emerged as a potent combination on both ends of the ice.

"I think I've always been kind of looked at as a player that has an offensive upside, but I never really had gotten the opportunity to be in a shutdown role or play against other teams' top lines before," Schlemko said.

"I've really embraced the opportunity so far that Jimmy (associate coach Jim Playfair) has given me, just trying to show the coaching staff that I can be out there in all situations.

When the season began, neither he nor Klesla knew how their roles would evolve.

"We've kind of progressed here," Schlemko said. "We've been matched up against other teams' top lines. I think you got to embrace the opportunity. It's exciting playing against some of the best players in the world every night.

"Rusty's been great to me. He's kind of taken me under his wing a little bit, and we've developed some good chemistry."

Tippett has been rewarded for his faith in the duo that has combined for a 10 points and a plus-16 rating.

"They're very solid," he said. "They talk about we can't give easy things away. They play a simple effective game, they don't put themselves into trouble, and it's led to good results for them.

"They know on any given night, they're going to play against top players, so it would be not be (good) to give top players second and third chances, so they make sure they clean up a lot of those things that push the game along."

Tippett said doing the job defensively often translates into positive results in the offensive zone, which is why the plus-minus is high. He also said in the separate stats that he keeps, they both rate strongly.

Stars update: Dallas, which hosted Toronto on Friday night, has established itself as a contender in the Western Conference. The Coyotes can attest to that -- twice this season against Dallas, they lost the lead late in the game and eventually settled for point each time after coming up short in shootouts. Left wings Jamie Benn and Loui Eriksson are the major offensive threats for Dallas.